


A Weekend Alone

by giles_forever8495



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2016-08-10
Packaged: 2018-08-07 21:14:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7730002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/giles_forever8495/pseuds/giles_forever8495
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Buffy has nightmares about a certain Watcher, and she can’t stand being away from him any longer. She takes advantage of a weekend alone and decides to maybe share her feelings with the man.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Weekend Alone

**Author's Note:**

> When I started this, I seriously only planned on it being like 400 words...maybe. Ha! That didn't happen. I'm not even sure I know how to write anything less than 1500 words. Anyway, I actually really liked how this turned out so I hope you enjoy. (Please, do let me know!)
> 
> * - indicate sounds or thoughts.
> 
> This takes place after Buffy comes home from LA. In this AU, Angel never comes back from hell. Sorry if you’re an Angel fan…I’m not much of an Angel fan after the comics…
> 
> ***Since this takes place after Buffy ran away, but before Cruciamentum, she's in her senior year. But she is still only 17. So there is only a mention of underage sex.***

_*Ring…Ring…Ring!*_

“Dammit! I’m coming, I’m coming!” Giles tripped over quite a few of his books as he ran from the kitchen to his desk to pick up his phone. He had been expecting an important call from London and he didn’t want to miss it. He licked the stew off of his fingers as he picked up the phone, “Yes, hello? This is Rupert Giles.”

 

“No, duh!” Came the voice from the other side. “It’s Buffy.”

 

“Oh, hello Buffy. I’m sorry I was expecting a call from London. Is everything all right?”

 

“For the most part. Look,” she paused to take a deep breath and think over her words for the sixtieth time. “I was wondering if I could crash at your house this weekend?”

 

“What? Why? What about Willow, or possibly even Xander?”

 

“Well, mom is out of town this weekend for an art auction. And Willow has her family reunion this weekend, which she left for yesterday. Remember how she was upset about missing school today?”

 

“Oh. I see. Well there still is Xander’s house…”

 

“I’m pretty much trying to avoid that at all costs. Besides I think he and Cordelia have plans this weekend.”

 

“Wouldn’t you prefer to stay at your own home? I thought you’d be more pleased to have the house to yourself for a weekend.”

 

“Normally I would, Giles. But none of my friends are around, so not as much fun. Besides…I’ve been having dreams and I’m not totally up for sleeping alone.”

 

At that last statement Giles simply held his breath. He didn’t know what to say, but surely she couldn’t mean…

 

“I mean not _alone!_ I just meant like, you know, not in an empty house.”

 

“Are these prophecy dreams?”

 

“No. At least I hope not.”

 

“What are they about?”

 

She wanted to say that they were about him, that in every single dream he dies a brutal death and she is forced to watch. She wanted to tell him that she would wake up screaming his name. She wanted to tell him that the real reason she wants to stay with him is so she can make sure that he’s alive when she wakes up screaming. “They’re just nightmares. Really awful nightmares.”

 

“Alright,” he finally said. He knew he couldn’t say no to her, especially not when she seemed scared. “When would you like to come over? I can pick you up if you’d like?”

 

“No, that’s okay. I want to take a walk anyway. I’ll make sure I’m there while it’s still light out and then we can patrol after.”

 

“That sounds like a good plan.”

 

“Yeah plus you can help me with my homework,” she added just to keep the conversation light again. Before she hung up the phone her voice got very serious again, “Thanks, Giles. I really appreciate this.”

 

“Of course, Buffy. I’ll see you in a bit.”

 

She hung up the phone and began to pack a bag. She had big plans for this weekend. It wasn’t just about her nightmares. It was about Giles. Mostly, it was about her feelings for Giles and the fact that she was going to tell him about them. Her entire time in LA forced her to think about everything since she’d come to Sunnydale. She was heartbroken over Angel, not because he was dead. No, he deserved to be dead even after he got his soul back. She was heartbroken because of all the things that he did to her: the traumatizing experience of waking up alone after losing her virginity. Then her vampire boyfriend with a soul just lost his soul, because of her, and he attacked her for weeks. The last straw was Giles. She already couldn’t live with herself knowing that her actions caused Giles immense emotional pain (at the loss of Jenny) and physical pain (from the torture he endured with Angelus). She wanted Angelus dead and she wanted him to stay dead. She couldn’t face Giles after everything. That was why she left. She needed to get away from Sunnydale and the people that she disappointed. She needed to figure everything out.

 

She didn’t question herself. Not once. Every time the thought came into her head about having feelings for Giles she simply thought what it would be like to love him. At first it was a little weird, but eventually she got used to the idea and even welcomed it. After the first few weeks in LA, Buffy knew all that she needed to know about her feelings. The only thing that kept her there after was her guilt. That was something that she still battled with every day since the day Angelus made his first appearance. But today she needed to end it. No matter the consequences, she needs to tell Giles that she loves him. She needs him to know even if the guilt doesn’t go away.

 

As thoughts and memories ran through her head, she walked in the last bit of sunlight to Giles’s apartment. Her mind was made up, now she just had to find the right opportunity.

 

_*Knock.Knock.Knock!*_

Giles opened the door to see Buffy holding two bags seemingly full of clothes. He gave her an incredulous look, “do you really need all that for one weekend?”

 

She lifted up the smaller of the two bags with her left hand, “this one has weapons and homework, and this one,” she motioned to the larger bag, “has clothes and toiletries.”

 

He simply gave her a look and moved for her to enter. “I made stew if you’d like. The pot is on the stove and there’s a bit of bread on the countertop.”

 

“Thanks,” she said moving past him. “Where can I put these?”

 

“You can take them up to my room.”

 

“Wait…don’t you have another bedroom?”

 

“Originally, yes. But I turned it into an office of sorts.”

 

“So…am I sleeping in your bed?”

 

“Uh, erm, well…Yes. If that’s all right. I’m fairly used to sleeping on the couch these days, ever since…” he paused, his mind flashing back to the woman laying dead in his bed. A shudder ran through his body.

 

“Oh…yeah. It’s okay. If you’re okay on the couch then I don’t mind…”

 

He watched her go up the stairs to the loft bedroom. He had only gone up there for clothing, but even that he avoided doing. He would just keep washing the three outfits he had downstairs. As she came back down the stairs he said, “Don’t worry, I did change everything. Well, Xander actually did most of it. And Willow. They took care of the sheets and blankets. Even the mattress is new. I really owe them a lot.”

 

“They won’t take it,” she said moving into the kitchen. He followed her to get more stew. “Whatever it is you think you owe them, they won’t take it. They’d do anything for you.”

 

“And I for them, but they still did quite a lot for me this summer that I would like to repay them for.” He grabbed to bowls from the cupboard and handed one to Buffy, then took two spoons from the drawer next to the sink.

 

Buffy stayed silent as he handed her a bowl and she began serving herself. Now would be a good time to apologize again; he seemed to be setting her up for it. She took a deep breath and turned to take a spoon from his hand, “I’m sorry, Giles. For leaving. For not telling you that I was leaving,” she put her dinner on the counter and faced him as he listened and served himself. “For everything that happened. I’m so sorry.”

 

After serving himself, he pulled a piece of bread from the loaf and placed it in his bowl. Then he set the bowl on the counter and went to the fridge pulling out water bottles for each of them. He grabbed his meal and escorted Buffy to the dining table. He sat down in silence waiting for her to get settled. Then he asked, “Why? Why did you leave?”

 

“I needed time. Time away from everyone and everything. Besides, when left to stop Angel, mom and I got into a fight. She told me if I left the house not to come back…”

 

“She did what? Buffy, you could’ve come to me. You could have stayed here!”

 

“That’s not the point, Giles. I needed…wait. You would’ve let me stay with you? Even after everything that I did?”

 

“Of course I would have. Buffy, what you did, it wasn’t all your fault. There were other people responsible, myself included.”

 

“I guess. But I still needed time to cope with everything. Through all of it, I hadn’t had time to really deal with what happened between me and Angel, and having to send him to hell wasn’t easy. But it was the right thing to do. And it took me a long time to realize that. It took me a while to move on from him and my feelings for him. The alone time was good for me. I’m just sorry that I disappointed you again by leaving.”

 

He reached his hand across the table to hold hers. “You didn’t disappoint me, Buffy. I was hurt, yes, but not disappointed. Once you came back, I forgave you because I was just happy that you were alive.” He gave her a heartwarming smile. He would just about always be able to forgive her. She had a piece of his heart, whether she knew it or not.

 

They finished their meal in a comfortable silence. Buffy felt that the guilt she had was washed away by the smiles that he kept giving her. How he forgave her she still couldn’t quite understand, but she had a hunch. She just didn’t want to get her hopes up to much.

 

They went out on patrol together after cleaning up dinner. Giles with his clipboard critiquing her technique and urging her to “plunge and move on.” All in all she only staked two vamps, so they had quite a bit of time to talk and reestablish their friendship. Buffy had a few opportunities to tell him her feelings, but she was still very nervous about the whole thing.

 

After the night, Giles ushered Buffy into his home. She headed for the kitchen to grab some water. “You want one?” she asked offering him a bottle.

 

“Yes, please.” She tossed him a bottle through the breakfast bar.

 

“Do you mind if I shower?”

 

He nodded his head as she made her way upstairs. When she came back down Giles handed her a towel from the hall closet. He took a seat on the couch waiting for her. He wanted to ask more about her dreams to make sure that they weren’t prophetic. In the meantime he leafed through some of his books making sure that no prophecies are due for occurrences any time soon. Thankfully, there were none. He whispered, “Thank God.”

 

“Thank God, what?” She asked coming down the hallway towards him. She was fully clothed in silk pajamas and her hair was wrapped in the towel he gave her.

 

“Hmm? Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about your dreams, and I wanted to make sure that they weren’t prophetic, so-”

 

“So you checked your handy books just in case?”

 

“Precisely.”

 

“That’s good. I really don’t want them to be real.” She sat down on the opposite end of the couch hugging her knees to her chest.

 

“What are they about?” He turned to face her bending his right leg onto the couch and resting the same arm on the back.

 

“They aren’t all the same. I mean, they’re about the same thing, but it always happens differently.”

 

“And what happens exactly?”

 

She took a deep breath and hid her face behind her knees. As she thought about the images from her dreams she tried desperately not to cry. She knew they weren’t real, but she couldn’t stand seeing him like that.

 

“Buffy?”

 

When she finally spoke it was a soft, tear filled whisper, “You die.”

 

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you.”

 

She lifted her head and looked him in the eye. The tears that she had tried to hold back freely fell from her eyes and she was forced to take another deep breath so she could talk again. “You die, Giles. Every time.”

 

“Oh, Buffy!”

 

“And the worst part? It’s never just a slow death. You’re always being tortured in some way and I have to watch. Sometimes I’m not even chained to anything. I could stop it, save you. But I can never move. I have to watch you die, Giles!” She let out a loud sob and buried her face in her knees.

 

He watched as her body shook with grief and pain and sorrow. His heart broke with every shaky breath that she took and he couldn’t watch any longer. He reached over and pulled her into his arms. He pressed her head against his chest and wrapped his arms around her trying to take all of her pain away. He whispered soothing words to her “it’s all right, Buffy”, “I’m here”, and “I’m not going to die.”

 

As her cries were soothed, they both became very aware of the position they were now in. Buffy was kneeling between Giles’s legs on the sofa. Her hip was pressed directly against his groin, and his left arm was pressed against her chest as he held her. Instead of backing away, Buffy snuggled in closer to his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. She steadied her breathing and closed her eyes relishing in the comfort of his embrace.

 

Giles felt her relax into his arms but not pull away. He was momentarily surprised at her willingness to stay in his arms. As she snuggled closer, he leaned them both back so that Giles could lay his head against the arm of the couch. She stretched her legs along his to get more comfortable. They lay there holding each other until both of them fell asleep.

 

Giles woke first the next morning. The morning sun barely peaked through the windows but it was enough to wake him. His back was stiff and his neck ached but when he looked down at the face laying on his chest all of the pain was extinguished. Buffy. He instinctively tightened his grip on her, and she did the same.

 

A few moments later she began to stir. She took a deep breath, breathing in the scent of her Watcher, and smiled. She turned her head to look up at him.

 

“Good morning,” he said with the same smile on his lips as hers.

 

“Mornin’.”

 

“What are you smiling about?”

 

“A couple things.”

 

“Oh?” He asked looking for an explanation.

 

“I didn’t have any bad dreams last night.”

 

“That’s a good thing. And the other?”

 

A blush slowly swept through her cheeks, so she pillowed her face on his chest again and said, “I like waking up like this.”

 

He could feel the smile on her face, but he wasn’t quite sure how to take it. He decided on a bit of sarcasm to keep the mood light, “I bet you would. My back, however, feels quite differently.”

 

Buffy let out a tired laugh and said, “Does that mean I have to get up? I’m so comfy,” she rubbed her cheek on his chest and hugged him a little tighter.

 

She felt a chuckle run through his chest before he said, “Eventually, yes. Especially if you want breakfast.”

 

At that she sat up a little and gave him a beaming smile, “OOOh! Can you make chocolate chip pancakes?”

 

“For you, of course.” He smiled up at her. Now that she was sitting between his legs instead of laying down, he scooted up to a sitting position. He also felt somewhat relieved that she was no longer pressed against his morning erection. If he was honest with himself, he wasn’t really sure if it was from having just woken up or from the woman he loved being in his arms. He shook that thought from his mind and moved to rise from the couch. Buffy stopped him with a gentle hand on his shoulder.

 

“Thank you,” she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a hug.

 

“What for?”

 

She smiled and looked into his eyes, “For being you, and keeping the bad dreams away.”

 

He gave her a smile and stood. Before he started breakfast, he managed to beat Buffy into the bathroom. They made breakfast together. Giles made the pancakes while Buffy made the eggs. They both set the table and sat down together in a peaceful, comfortable silence as if they had done this every morning for their entire lives.

 

The day went on relatively slow. They spent the rest of the morning reading: Giles the newspaper, and Buffy her history book. Every once in a while she would ask him questions about his history (England, not his childhood). Finally, she got to the work part of homework. She needed to write a 2-page paper on a something in British history. She took the opportunity, with the permission of her teacher, to write about Jack, the Ripper. She mostly wanted to know if that’s where Giles got his Ripper nickname from, but also the mystery of the case intrigued her.

 

“Okay, Giles. Now that I’m done reading, you can help me with my paper.”

 

“Oh, can I? You make it sound as though I wanted to this whole time.”

 

“Ah, but see, you do want to help me.”

 

“I do?” He asked with a grin on his face. He couldn’t wait to see where this was headed.

 

“Of course you do! ‘Cause you - like my mother and Willow - want me to go to college. And if I have to go to college, then I have to graduate from high school. And if I’m going to graduate from high school, then I’m going to need to pass history. And if I’m going to pass history, then you really need to help me with this paper.”

 

“I think somewhere along the line you twisted logic, but I’ll bite. What’s this paper on?”

 

“Jack, the Ripper.”

 

“I see. And what made you choose such a mysterious part of British history?” He knew the answer to his question before he asked it, but he was going to make her say it.

 

“Well, it’s a really interesting case. I mean, some guy goes around London killing innocent women for at least a month and he never gets caught. And over a hundred years later people are still talking about it. It’s, like, one of the world’s biggest mysteries and it happens to have occurred in your back yard.”

 

“That’s true, it is quite an interesting case, which I happen to have the answer to. However, knowing you, I believe your motives towards this paper are a bit more personal than just a homework assignment.”

 

Dammit, he figured it out. But she wasn’t going to tell him that. “What do you mean?”

 

“Please, Buffy, sometimes I can read you better than my books in ancient Etruscan.”

 

She started to grin and giggled a bit when she replied, “Oh.” Then her face changed as she thought for a moment, “What do you mean you have an answer to it?”

 

“Jack, the Ripper. I know who he is. Or, rather, what it is.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Ninety-nine percent of the world’s population believed that one man killed all those women. But actually it was a different man every time, killing exactly the same way. They were being manipulated by a Thesulac demon.”

 

“And how do you know this?”

 

“My Watcher’s diaries. At the time of the murders, Bridget ‘Biddy’ Page was the Slayer and Jeremiah Stewart her Watcher. They began investigating the murders after Biddy had a dream that something else was behind the murders, not just a man. You see, a Thesulac demon is invisible and possess telepathic abilities. It feeds off the fear of its victims. This demon in particular found it amusing to have married men sleep with a prostitute and then murder her in the street. It took Biddy and Jeremiah three weeks to discover what the demon was and how to stop it. When they finally did, news had already spread about the so-called ‘Jack, the Ripper.’ Jeremiah saw it fit to let the case go unsolved instead of having innocent men suffer the death penalty when they were just as much victims as the women. And, if I’m remembering correctly, the majority of the men committed suicide or wound up in a mental institution after the fact.”

 

“Wow…that’s awful. And kind of disappointing. I kinda liked the mystery of it.”

 

“Sorry to disappoint.”

 

“Now what am I going to write about?”

 

“You can still choose to write about the socially acceptable version of Jack, the Ripper. I’ll even help you with it. On one condition.”

 

“Oh boy, let’s hear it.”

 

“Why Jack, the Ripper?”

 

She couldn’t meet his gaze. She looked down, stared into her history book and whispered, “I was wondering if he had anything to do with your nickname…”

 

He kept a silent chuckle to himself as he peered under her gaze to look into her eyes, “You know, you can always just ask me. You needn’t come up with an excuse to ask me about myself.”

 

“Oh…it’s just, you always seemed so…”

 

“Closed?”

 

“Yeah…” she said with a partly shy, partly sad smile.

 

“I am sorry that I made you feel that way. But it’s alright, if you want to ask me. I won’t ever lie to you, Buffy.”

 

“Okay…So, how did you get your nickname?”

 

“Now that’s a story…” He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “At 21, I dropped out of Oxford, which you already know, and took up with Ethan and the others. Mostly, it was how I came to know them that got me the name.” He paused to look up at her and smiled at the sight. She was leaning slightly towards him, completely intrigued, her chin resting on the heel of her hand. “I was at a pub, a filthy one. It was probably the cheapest place to drink in all of London, and even the bums on the street didn’t drink there. It was reserved for the underground: vampires, demons, and, of course, those enthralled by dark magic. Still not sure why I ended up there, but the first bloke I met was none other than Ethan Rayne.”

 

She listened to him talk with such curiosity. At first she was shocked by how open he was being. But the more he talked the more mesmerized she was. His voice ran through her like electricity. If the story weren’t so interesting, she could have dozed off because of how soothing his voice was.

 

“Ethan and talked at the bar for a long while. He realized pretty quickly that I knew a lot about magic, and, being Ethan, he couldn’t resist. He introduced me to others and that night we performed our first group spell. Afterwards, we were all so high off the magic that we decided to go back out. And before we even reached the first pub some pillock decided to try and take Deidre. Ethan, Philip, and Randall just stood there and watched, so I jumped in. Beat up the bloke so bad that he could have been a ‘Jack, the Ripper’ victim, had I had a knife on me. We ran off before any authorities came ‘round and ever since then they called me Ripper.”

 

“Whoa, Giles. That’s…whoa…” She was speechless and the shocked look in her eyes explained it. Finally she said, “Now I understand where the ‘Ripper glare’ comes from, and why it’s so scary.”

 

By the time they finished talking, it was after noon and Buffy’s stomach was growling loud enough for Giles to hear. After about the fifth time he said, “Shall we have lunch, or would you rather that demon in your stomach to talk some more?”

 

He gave her such a flirty grin that at first she just stared at him. But then her stomach growled again, much like a demon, and she began laughing, “Yes, please.”

 

Giles headed for the stairs, and when she looked up at him she said, “Wait, where are you going?”

 

“To put on real clothes. I can’t take you out to lunch wearing these sweatpants and a shirt that you drooled on last night.”

 

She was lost after he commented on his sweatpants. She couldn’t take her eyes off of his butt, which by the way was perfectly outlined by the sweatpants. Then she realized exactly what he said, “HEY! I do NOT drool in my sleep!”

 

“Oh really?” He said laughing and coming back down the stairs towards her. “Then explain to me these stains here which appeared after you slept on my chest?”

 

She reached out and pulled the bottom of his shirt towards her. As she inspected the supposed ‘drool stains’ she also took the opportunity to take in his scent again. She looked up at him and realized that he was standing so close to her that she could just barely hear his heart beating. And it was beating fast. Before she did anything stupid she let go of his shirt and with a shaky voice said, “You better change then.”

 

He hesitated before he backed away wanting desperately to pull her into a kiss. Instead he backed up to the stairs, not taking his eyes off of her until he almost tripped up the first step. He came back down a few minutes later with clean clothes, but he hadn’t changed yet. “I th-think I’m going to take a quick shower first,” he said as he walked passed her. “You can change upstairs if you’d like.”

 

“Thanks…”

 

As he hurried down the hallway towards the bathroom, she hurried up the stairs to his bedroom. They reached their locations almost simultaneously; Giles slammed his back against the closed bathroom door and Buffy flopped backwards onto his bed. Together they let out an exasperated breath.

 

*WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT! He was avoiding me right?? I didn’t just make that up in my head? He probably thinks I’m crazy. I drooled on him, I sniffed him, and I asked all these questions about his past! UGH…* She rolled over and buried her face in his pillows. At first she was just trying to hide her face because she was embarrassed, but then she was overwhelmed with the smell of him. She turned on her side and pulled one of his pillows into a tight embrace. As her thoughts and insecurities ran through her mind she began to cry. The hot tears stung her eyes and her lungs ached from holding in her sobs. *Why did I ever think this was a good idea? He thinks of me as some kid, some little girl, like I’m his daughter or something. God! He’s probably still in love with Jenny! How could he forgive me!? Just like that! Why isn’t he mad at me! I would be mad at me. No, I’d be furious with me! I wouldn’t want to look at me. Ugh! I thought I could do this. I thought I was ready, but I’m not! It still hurts so much. Everything hurts. I killed Angel…I sent him to hell and I supposedly loved him! This isn’t a good idea…I should just leave…*

 

Quickly she changed her clothes and collected her things. As she was about to head downstairs, Giles called up to her, “Buffy? Are you ready to go?”

 

Cursing herself quietly, she placed her bag at the foot of his bed and headed downstairs. “Yeah. Here I am.”

 

“Buffy?” He asked coming near her, giving her a look full of concern. “Are you all right?” He reached out his hand cupping her cheek. He brushed his thumb over her dried tears.

 

She pulled away quickly, not wanting to talk about it, “I’m fine.”

 

“Buffy, you can talk to me.”

 

“Not now. Okay Giles?” She walked back towards him and hooked her arm around his. “Where are you taking me?” She asked with as sincere a smile as she could muster.

 

He gave her a sympathetic smile and seeing that now really wasn’t the best time to talk he said, “Just stick with me, love. I promise you’ll enjoy it.”

 

Her response was better than he had expected. The half smile on her face morphed into a giddy grin and she pulled him towards the door.

 

The drive in Giles’s car was short which meant somewhere downtown. When he finally parked, Giles opened the door for Buffy and hooked her arm around his again. They walked a few blocks down passing many of Buffy’s favorite eateries. When they passed the last restaurant that Buffy knew about she began to protest. Giles only laughed at her efforts and kept leading her down the street turning onto a block that Buffy didn’t recognize.

 

“Giles, where are we? There isn’t a street that I don’t know about in this town.”

 

“Except this one,” he said with a sly grin.

 

“What are you hiding from me?”

 

“Nothing. I promise. You’ve been here before.” He pointed her towards the alleyway off of the corner. “I believe this is where you killed the Chronos demon last year.”

 

“Oh yeah! Gooey mess, ruined my new jeans.”

 

“Precisely.”

 

“Still, I don’t remember any restaurants around here.”

 

“Yes, well, just proves that I was right.”

 

“Huh?” She asked pulling him to a stop in the middle of the street.

 

He looked down at her bewildered face and laughed a little. “You need to pay more attention, love.”

 

She scowled at him and pulled his arm to continue on. She muttered something under her breath that he couldn’t quite decipher, but he decided to let it go. As they walked down half a block more, he stopped her in front a small diner and opened the door for her.

 

When they walked in, they were greeted by the smiles of the wait staff who were tirelessly moving about the small restaurant. He motioned for her to join him in a booth in the corner, giving them as much privacy as possible.

 

“How did you find this place?” She asked sliding into the seat across from him, her back against the wall giving her the best protective viewpoint.

 

“Around the time I first came to Sunnydale. They have the best tea I have ever tasted, outside of England,” he pulled a menu from the condiments holder began to scan over his options. More quietly he said, “It reminds me of home.”

 

She smiled at his voluntary admission. He so rarely shared his feelings or stories from his past. She’d been enjoying every moment of him being truly himself, with no barriers. “Thank you.”

 

“What for?” He asked looking up from his menu into her smiling eyes.

 

“For taking me here.”

 

“You haven’t even had food yet,” he chuckled.

 

“Not because of the food. Because of the way it makes you feel: at home.”

 

“Ah,” he said looking back at his menu, a blush rising in his cheeks. “Yes. It does quite bring me back to England. They have a traditional English menu.”

 

“So,” she chirped as she pulled out a menu for herself. “What is good here?”

 

“The breakfast is very delicious actually, but for lunch I normally have the sausage and onion sandwich. It’s my favorite.” He continued perusing the menu decided whether or not to have his usual.

 

“How often do you come here?”

 

“I’ve been here a few times when school would let out early for the day.”

 

She nodded as a response and then asked, “Giles, why do they serve everything with chips?”

 

“Chips are what we call fries in England,” he laughed over his menu.

 

“Ah…Oh! I think I know what I’m getting then.”

 

“Do you?”

 

“Yup.”

 

Before he could ask what, the waitress walked up to there table. “Hi! Welcome to Chambers’s Place. Can I start you guys off with something to drink?”

 

Buffy spoke first, “I’ll have an orange juice, please.”

 

“Of course! For you, sir.”

 

“Yes, I’ll have tea please. Also I believe we’re ready to order.”

 

“Okay, great! What can I get for you?” She asked looking back and forth between the two.

 

Again, Buffy spoke first. “I’d like the chicken nuggets and chips please. And can I have a side of mayonnaise with that?”

 

“Absolutely!” She jotted down on her notepad and turned to Giles. “For you?”

 

He glanced quickly over his menu again making his final decision. “The sausage and onion sandwich please.”

 

The waitress took his order, assured them that their drinks would be out shortly and turned back towards the kitchen. With the menus out of the way, an awkward and somewhat tense silence took over the table. After some time, they both tried talking at once.

 

“Buffy-”

 

“Giles-”

 

Buffy lost the confidence that she seemed to have a moment ago and motioned for him to speak first.

 

Giles took a deep breath and attempted to steel his confidence. “Are you all right?”

 

“What do you mean?” She asked shifting uncomfortably in her seat.

 

“Before we left, you were crying, upstairs. Weren’t you?”

 

She ducked her head from his gaze opting to focus on her hands in her lap instead. She took in a few shaky breaths before trying her voice. Without looking up at him she quietly responded, “Yes.”

 

“Why?” He hated seeing her like this. And the morning had been going so well that he didn’t quite understand the sudden mood change. Except for the moment of awkwardness, which he also couldn’t define, their relationship seemed to be healing after the last tragedy that they endured.

 

It took her some time to answer. She had all but definitely decided to share her feelings with him. It was the point of her weekend, but she was so scared to lose him. She was so scared that her feelings would push him away.

 

Quietly, almost to the point where he couldn’t hear her, she whispered, “Are you…are you still in love with her?”

 

It took him a moment to comprehend what she had asked. But finally the words reached his ears and understanding reached his mind. “Ms. Calendar?” he asked with a somewhat confused face.

 

She only nodded her head in response, still looking down at her hands.

 

“Honestly Buffy, I’m not sure that I ever was.” He took a deep breath and forced himself to continue. He wanted her to know the truth, to know his feelings for her, not Jenny. But he also needed to confirm his suspicions. He would never actually say anything, not unless she provoked him. And he wasn’t a stupid man. Well, not completely stupid. Despite his idea that she could never love him the way that he loves her, he could see the looks that she gave him. He could see the attempt that she was trying to make, that she had something important to tell him. But he needed to be sure. And if she needed the truth about one of the most painful moments of his life, then she was damn well going to get it. “I had feelings for her, obviously, but I never really got the opportunity to fall in love with her. She was in love with me, that much I know.”

 

“Does it still hurt? Her being gone and all…”

 

“Is this about Angel?” His heart nearly fell to pieces.

 

“No!” Her head shot up, finally. “Well, not really. A little bit, but it’s not why I asked.”

 

“Ah. Well, yes. I suppose it does still hurt. I never really got closure, with whatever my relationship with her was. I never got to know if it would work out or not.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Do you miss him?”

 

“No.” He was surprise at the honesty and the venom in her voice. “I hate him: for what he did to you, for what he did to me, and for what I made him…”

 

“I told you, Buffy. You can’t blame yourself.”

 

“I know, I know. I’m just still not over this guilt thing. It’s gonna take some more time.”

 

She was finally looking at him, so when he prepared his next question he prayed that she wouldn’t shut down. Just before he asked, the waitress brought them their drinks and asked if they needed anything else. As she left them alone again, he asked, “Is that why you were crying?”

 

Thankfully, she didn’t look away. Or run away for that matter. She straightened her shoulders and said, “Because I don’t want to lose you, Giles. I can’t lose you.” She started off strong, but quickly became more worried.

 

“You never will.”

 

“You see, I’m not so sure of that. Because I have to tell you something, but I’m afraid to because I don’t want you to wig out on me or-or leave me because you don’t…”

 

“Because I don’t what?”

 

She shrunk back into her seat and dropped her gaze to her hands again. The waitress placed their food in front of them and let them be. Buffy used the brief distraction to build up more confidence again.

 

“Because there’s no way that you feel the same way as me.” She stared into her basket of food and poked around at the fries. Her appetite from earlier waned.

 

He nearly dropped the mug of tea that he had lifted to his lips. *Is she saying what I think she’s saying? I saw the signs, but honestly was just thinking that I was seeing things, that they were all in my imagination?* “And what way do you feel, Buffy?”

 

She pushed around more fries and almost ate a chicken nugget. She brushed her hands on her jeans and looked back into his green eyes. Knots formed in her stomach. “I fell in love with you.”

 

Well there it is. She said it. But Giles couldn’t say anything. In his silence she began to ramble a bit.

 

“Ironically, or not ironically? I’m still not really sure how to use that word. Anyway, I fell in love with you over the summer. I know that doesn’t really make any sense. I was in LA during the summer since I ran away and all. But I told you how I needed time. And space. And during my first few weeks all I could think about was what Angel did to you, and how I hated him so much for it because I loved you. And at first I was like ‘what the heck? I love Giles?’ But then as I thought about more and more and I realized ‘of course I love Giles. I mean he’s the most important person in my life.’ And then everyday I would think about what it would be like to come home to you and to be really happy. And Giles, it was the first time that I ever felt happy, and that was just me thinking about you. It was also the first time that I imagined a future for myself. I mean, being the Slayer and all, I don’t exactly have a long life span. I’ve already died once, but we don’t need to talk about that, do we? No. The important thing is here that I finally figured it out…I love you.”

 

He stayed completely silent the entire time she spoke. His mind didn’t comprehend anything she said after her first admission. He was silent a while after she had finished talking as his brain, very slowly, caught up to her. His eyes grew very wide as he stared at the girl sitting across from him. That was the problem, wasn’t it? She was still a girl. Seventeen years old. And he was forty-four years old. A twenty-seven year difference. He’d done the math dozens of times before. This wasn’t possible. And yet, there she was, admitting her feelings for him. *You should speak now, Rupert. You’re scaring her.*

 

“You-you l-love me? You’re in love with me? Are you quite sure?”

 

She couldn’t help but giggle a bit at his questioning. She could see it in his eyes, even if he didn’t say it. He felt the same. She had no doubt anymore. “Yes. I am quite sure that I am in love with you, Rupert Giles.”

 

He couldn’t stop the boyish grin spreading so wide across his face. “Well, if you’re sure,” he chuckled. Then he grew very serious, but full of love, “I love you, too, Buffy Summers.”

 

They finished their lunch fairly quickly now that the majority of their fears were gone. They spent the rest of the day walking around town and simply enjoying each other’s company. They stopped off at Giles’s apartment as it started to get late. Buffy changed into slay-worthy attire. As she walked towards his door, he made her promise to be careful. He hated nights when she went out alone, but sometimes being the Slayer called for patrolling alone to attract more of the undead.

 

As the hours ticked on, Giles grew more and more worried. She was never out this late. Just as he was about to go out looking for her she came running through his front door.

 

“Sorry I’m so late! I staked a record twenty vamps tonight! Every time I was ready to turn in and come back, a vamp popped out of nowhere! Well, not nowhere. I know what you’re thinking. No mystics this time, bub. I think I just stumbled upon a sewer entrance to a nest is all. They kept pouring out of it. I think I got ‘em all though.”

 

“So long as you come home.” He talked over to give her a hug, but she stopped him.

 

“As much as I’d love to hug you right now, I’m covered in vamp dust, and I seriously need a shower.”

 

He smiled at her and let her clean up. When she came out of the shower, she wore nothing but a towel. He sat in his armchair across from the couch. He couldn’t help but stare as she walked up to the loft. He knew she saw him, but what did it matter now?

 

“Hey, Watcher-mine? You gonna join me up here or what?” She called down from the loft.

 

Without an ounce of hesitation he threw the book he was reading onto the coffee table and leapt over the back of the couch. In less than a minute he was up the stairs. All that could be heard was giggling, which slowly turned into sounds of pleasure, until they each yelled each other’s name.

 

**THE END** _…or is it????_

 

 

 

_Some months later…._

“GILES I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!!”

 

“Buffy! Please, I understand it hurts, but you must push through the pain.”

 

“IT HURTS TOO MUCH, GILES! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!”

 

He pleaded with her to remain calm as the nurses began moving about the hospital room. Giles stood by her side leaning over the edge of the bed to try and comfort her. Sweat beaded on her brow and her bangs stuck to her forehead. He stroked her hair and held her hand as another sweep of pain came over her. Her entire body constricted and she bowed her head as close to her knees as possible.

 

As she cried in pain, Giles instructed her to remember her breathing routines. He even did them with her so that she would focus on something other than the pain. The doctor gave her a set of instructions, and she was praised and encouraged every time she followed them.

 

“Just one more, love. You can do it,” Giles whispered into her ear as he pressed his forehead against hers. She cried as the next wave of pain came, and with one final push she was done.

 

Cries echoed through the hospital room from mother, father, and baby. The doctor handed the tiny infant to a nurse who moved to clean her face. She wrapped the baby in the blanket and placed her on mom’s chest. “It’s a girl!”

 

Buffy let out another joy-filled cry and gently cradled her newborn. She placed a small kissed on her head and whispered soothing words. At the sound of her mother’s voice, the baby stilled in her arms and only whimpers and coos could be heard.

 

Buffy looked from the baby to Giles with the biggest smile he had ever seen. He was half standing, half sitting now on the bed. His right arm wrapped around Buffy’s shoulders and his left hand cradling the baby’s head. “She’s beautiful,” he whispered more to himself than anyone else. He never expected to be a father. He never expected to love anyone so immediately. Mostly, he never expected that he could love two people as much as he loved his wife and his newborn.

 

“Do you have a name for her?” One of the nurses asked, both out of curiosity and out of need for patient information.

 

Buffy and Giles shared a look and turned their glances toward the baby. Together they said, “Edna Joyce Giles.”

 

 

 

 

**THE END** _\- for real this time._


End file.
